April 21, 2009

I started the week with the recipe for Soft Rolls (page 132) for the Baking & Pastry Project using the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book. This dough can be used to make shapes such as Parker House and Knots (page 218 & 219).

These soft and tender rolls are made with bread flour. For a long time I experimented with various gluten free flours trying to pump up the protein content without using a bean flour. However, I'd have needed to use a larger amount of nut or seed meal, then the rolls would no longer have a soft and tender texture. I opted for using some tepary bean flour, which is very high in protein so I could use less of it in the mixture. Then I used almond meal for it's mild flavor and to pump up the protein content. I switched to sweet potato flour since it contains more protein than arrowroot starch. The resulting dough had a nice taste although it was a bit robust. To mellow the flavor I added agave syrup to the recipe.

The protein amounts of each flour follow in parenthesis. The total amount of protein for the original soft roll dough has 36.4 grams (per 100 g flour) as compared to 36.88 grams of gluten free flour (per 100 g flour).

My husband and I thought the rolls had a fabulous texture and flavor. After he got home late from work the other night, we enjoyed them with slices of Comte cheese and a glass of red wine...delicious. My son opted to eat his plain, but my daughter wasn't thrilled with the rolls. She just couldn't get past the aroma the rolls had when they came out of the oven - as they smelled a bit beany. We told her that once they cooled slightly they didn't smell or taste of beans, however she remained unconvinced. There was no way she was going to try these out.

1. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir making sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour in the agave syrup, butter, milk and egg mixing until combined.

2. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkle some sweet rice flour and turn out the bread dough. Roll into a log shape and divide into 6 equal pieces. Then roll them gently between your palms to around them and place on the parchment paper. Set out another sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with sweet rice flour for the rolls that are shaped.

3. For Parker House Rolls - Press each piece of dough into an oval about 4 in/10 cm long and 3/8"/1 cm thick. Then fold the dough in half with the top edge stopping about 1/4 in/7 mm from the edge. Lay on the second sheet of parchment paper.

4. For Single Knot Rolls - Roll each piece of dough until it is a long cylinder about 6 in/15 cm in length. Gently ease the dough into a single knot and fold the ends to the back so they touch. Then press the ends together. Lay on the second piece of parchment paper.

5. When all the rolls are shaped, cover the rolls and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/191 degrees C convection oven. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven at the same time on a shelf in the top third of the oven. Brush the Parker House rolls with clarified butter and the knots with egg wash. Place the parchment paper with the rolls on it onto the baking stone. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

7. Remove the stone or brick from the oven and slide the parchment paper with the rolls onto the baking stone. Remove the bread from the oven, then let the bread cool before serving.

7 comments:

The color of these is great! I understand what you are saying about bean flour...At least the bean flavor does temper a bit once the bread cools. I have been able to use navy blean flour every so often without being too bothered with the aroma/flavor, but overall I gravitate toward other options.

Do you have any more pics of this bread? I'd love to see what the crumb/texture look like. Love these bread posts!

wow yum... these look really delicious, I'm also wondering if there is a substitute for tepary?

funny... i had been on your blog a long time ago, and just re-found it white scrolling through a french blog (on mange), and saw your site was posted in french... do you do the translation? thought that was pretty cool...

Hi Allie - You can substitute soy flour for the tepary bean flour. They are close in protein content.

Perrine @ On Mange! is a wonderful cook and baker. The French translation link is the work of Perrine...isn't she wonderful. If you haven't taken the time to look around her blog, you should. She has some wonderful recipes. I've tried out a few and she has a recent recipe with cherries and cheesecake that is making my mouthwater as I write this.